E-cigarettes rules posed to city committee unfair, says Calgary business owner
Committee recommends treating e-cigarettes like tobacco
An Alberta woman who sells vaporizers says a report that went to a city committee Tuesday that recommends extending Calgary's smoking bylaw to e-cigarettes is "excessively restrictive."
"It's not the same thing and it's easy to classify under the same rules because it looks a lot like cigarettes, but it's not," said Heather Bodnar-Gray, who owns a chain of e-cigarette stores in Alberta — including two in Calgary.
Bodnar-Gray is an advocate of "vaping" because it helped her quit cigarettes over two years ago.
"I smoked for 15 years, a pack a day. I couldn't quit to save my life. I tried everything."
According to a Community Services and Protective Services Report, the city surveyed 561 Calgarians on their attitudes towards e-cigarettes.
Half of the people interviewed felt it was a "nuisance" being around vapers, and the majority said they were opposed to the "use of e-cigarettes in any indoor public place," according to the report.
Calgary city staffers are recommending an amendment to Calgary's smoking bylaw that would treat e-cigarettes like tobacco. That means prohibiting them in public places, such as inside buildings.
"It will really alienate vapers," said Bodnar-Gray.
"When I was a smoker I was pretty embarrassed about it. I mean I couldn't quit. It kind of seems like it's labelling it again as this bad, terrible thing to do but they don't have any evidence to back it," she said.
City council still needs to approve the change to Calgary's smoking bylaw. Bodnar-Gray would like to see an exemption for vapor vendors if it does vote in favour later this month.
"We'll have our own little place to do what we do, it will be away from the public."
Bodnar-Gray notes that the industry is already subject to regulation, including a prohibition on selling the product to minors.